No need to ask China; Ayungin resupply missions continue

The military will continue to carry out rotation and resupply (RORE) missions to the Ayungin Shoal and needs no permission from the Chinese.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla made this clear yesterday in reaction to recent pronouncements from China that it is the one allowing soldiers to stay at the grounded BRP Sierra Madre and will let supplies and provisions be delivered to the troops.

“We do not actually need any permission from any country for us to do so,” she told reporters, stressing that it is the military’s obligation to provide for the morale and welfare needs of its troops, including those stationed at the dilapidated warship in the West Philippine Sea.

“It (resupply) continues. It is the mission of the AFP to give our troops the required provisions that they need for their morale and welfare, and the AFP will continue to do so,” Padilla said.

She said the military will continue its RORE missions to the Sierra Madre regardless of how many Chinese ships are in the area.

Padilla said such statements from China have no effect whatsoever on the AFP’s resupply operations in Philippine territorial waters.

The China Coast Guard and its maritime militia vessels have tried to block previous RORE missions to the BRP Sierra Madre.

China’s claims of owning almost the entire South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, have led to water cannon attacks and collision incidents in the past months.